Ausbildungsförderung Bewilligung für Studierende

BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law. You receive this funding to finance

• your studies,
• under certain conditions of a prescribed internship as part of your studies.

In order to receive the monthly grant, you must meet a number of requirements. The most important are

• Your parents and/or your partner earn comparatively little.
• You yourself have little or no income.
• Your assets are below the allowance of EUR 8,200.
• You are studying full-time
• Age limit: 30 years; 35 years for a Master's degree (exceptions are possible)

If you are studying, you will receive half of the grant as a loan and half as a grant. This means that you only have to pay back half of the money after your studies. The loan is interest-free, you do not have to pay any interest ("interest-free loan"). Repayment does not begin until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period, which usually corresponds to your standard period of study. You must repay a maximum of EUR 10,010, which corresponds to 77 monthly installments of EUR 130 each from the start of repayment. If you do not earn enough to repay your loan, you can apply to the Federal Office of Administration for a deferment of payment.

The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your partner or you yourself earn comparatively much.

Students

If you are a student, your monthly requirement is made up of different parts:

• Basic needs:
  • EUR 419.00 if you are studying at a higher technical college, academy or university (for example at a university).
• Accommodation requirements:
  • EUR 56.00 if you live with your parents or
  • EUR 325.00 if you do not live with your parents.
• If you cannot obtain health/nursing care insurance through your parents, you will receive an additional EUR 84.00 or EUR 25.00.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare supplement: EUR 140.00/150.00 for each child.

The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:

• The income of your parents and/or your spouse/life partner in the penultimate year before the start of the grant period, if it is above the allowance. The allowance is:
  • EUR 1,890 if your parents live together,
  • EUR 1,260 per parent if your parents live separately and
  • EUR 1,260 for a possible spouse/partner.
  • Note: If your parents or your spouse/partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last before approval, you can submit an update application.
  • Parent-independent BAföG: Your parents' income is not taken into account if you
    • have been employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18 or
    • have completed 3 years of training and then worked for at least 2 years.
    • In certain exceptional cases, if you are over 30 years old when you start your education.
• Your own income if you earn more than EUR 450.00 per month.
• Your own assets if you have more than EUR 8,200.

Note: The starting point for calculating your income is always the sum of your positive income. In tax law, this is the gross income minus the

• income-related expenses,
• social allowance and the
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

You can receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study. Only in exceptional cases can your BAföG be extended thereafter, for example if you

• have not passed the final examination,
• have a disability,
• are or were pregnant,
• have raised a child up to the age of 14,
• are or have been active in student self-administration, university committees or bodies, student services or student self-administration, or
• have cared for close relatives.

If you drop out of one degree program and start another ("change of degree program"), your new degree program can only be funded if

• the change took place in the 2nd semester at the latest or
• the change took place in the 3rd semester and there is an important reason for the change or
• the change follows from the 4th semester and there was an unavoidable reason for the change, for example
• a disability occurring after commencement of the course or
• an allergy to certain substances that makes it impossible to continue the course or to pursue the profession previously pursued.

Studying abroad

If you are spending a semester or year abroad, you can apply for additional travel expenses, tuition fees and health insurance abroad.

Shorter stays abroad in the EU are also eligible for funding and for stays abroad outside the EU/Switzerland a purchasing power adjustment is also granted.

Interns and trainees:

BAföG can only be used to fund internships that you complete while you are in a course of study that is eligible for funding under BAföG.

Only compulsory internships are eligible for funding. These are internships that are prescribed by your study regulations or training plan, i.e. that you have to do in order to complete or carry out your studies or training. Compulsory internships completed abroad are only eligible for funding if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory internships within EU member states are funded regardless of a minimum length of stay.

You can also receive BAföG if you complete your entire course of study in another EU country.

• Original certificate of enrollment with the imprint according to § 9 BAföG or certificate from the educational institution
• Copy of the
  • identity card,
  • passport or
  • current residence permit
• If you do not live with your parents: Copy
  • of the tenancy agreement or
  • the registration certificate
• If you are not covered by family insurance: Proof of health and long-term care insurance with legal basis and contribution amount
• If applicable, proof of your own income during the approval period, for example
  • Pay slip, part-time job, work contract,
  • Orphan's pension certificate,
  • Scholarship certificate or
  • Riester pension certificate
• Proof of assets or debts on the date of application, e.g. bank statement
• If you have a car:
  • Estimate of the value, e.g. printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
  • vehicle registration document.
• From the 5th semester: proof of performance from your university

Note: Depending on the case, further documents may be required. Please follow the instructions on the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request any missing documents.

Study:

You can receive BAföG if

• you are attending a university, academy or higher technical college. If it is a private educational institution, it must be state-recognized.
• you are studying full-time,
• you either
  • are German or German nationals or
  • come from abroad and e.g:
    • have a permanent right of residence or a settlement permit,
    • are Union citizens and are entitled to freedom of movement under Union law as an employee or self-employed person or are entitled to freedom of movement as a child or spouse of such a Union citizen,
    • have prospects of remaining in Germany, for example a residence permit for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
    • have already resided in Germany for 5 years or longer before the start of training and have worked during this time.
• at the start of your studies you are younger than
  • 30 years old (Bachelor's degree program) or
  • 35 years old (Master's degree program)
  • Exceptions:
    • You have acquired your higher education entrance qualification through second-chance education,
    • You have enrolled at a university solely on the basis of professional qualifications,
    • You were prevented from starting the course on time for personal or family reasons, in particular due to the uninterrupted upbringing of a child under the age of 14 (and did not work more than 30 hours per week), or
    • you have become needy due to drastic changes in your personal circumstances. You were therefore unable to complete a training course eligible for BAföG funding in a way that would qualify you for a job.

Internship:

• You will receive BAföG for your studies and the internship if this is prescribed by the training regulations and lasts at least 12 weeks in the case of internships abroad. For stays abroad within the EU, no minimum length of stay is required.

Please note: As the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your local education support office in good time.

If you would like to apply for BAföG for your studies or school education online,

• first either activate the online ID function of your ID card (eID) or open a De-Mail account. You must register for both.
• The procedure depends on the federal state in which you are studying.

If you would like to submit the application in paper form,

• go to the BAföG website and download the application forms that apply to you. Alternatively, you can also collect the applications from your student union.
• If you do not know which forms apply to you, you can use the application assistant on the BAföG website: You answer a few questions and the assistant will tell you which forms you need to submit.
• You can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out or print them out and fill them in by hand. The application must be signed.
• Attach the necessary supporting documents.
• Send the completed application forms directly to the Office for Educational Support responsible for you.
• The Office for Educational Support will check the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be checked and the decision will be communicated in a notification.

• As a rule, objection
• Action before the administrative court

• Education funding approval for students
• Financial support for studies under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG)
• Possible if
  • parents earn little or the requirements for parent-independent BAföG are met,
  • the student has little or no income and assets and
  • studies are full-time
• Half of the monthly funding is granted to students as a grant and half as an interest-free loan
• Repayment after completion of the course
• Repayment does not begin until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period, which usually corresponds to your standard period of study
• You must repay a maximum of EUR 10,010, which corresponds to 77 monthly installments of EUR 130 each from the start of repayment. Under certain conditions, the remaining debt can be waived after 20 years
• Internships are only funded if
  • it is a compulsory internship within the curriculum and
  • the studies are already supported by BAföG
• The amount for students and pupils depends on
  • 1. according to the fixed monthly requirement for
    • living expenses,
    • Accommodation, if applicable,
    • costs for health insurance, if applicable,
    • children, if applicable
  • 2. according to the income of the applicant and, if applicable, of the parents and/or spouse/life partner, which are deducted from the need:
    • Parents' income above the allowance of
      • EUR 1,890 if parents live together,
      • EUR 1,260 per parent if parents live separately
    • if applicable, income of a spouse/life partner above the allowance of EUR 1,260 and
    • own assets, if applicable, if they are higher than EUR 8,200
• BAföG is granted independently of parents if
  • the applicant has been employed for at least 5 years or
  • a school-leaving certificate is being sought through the 2nd educational pathway
  • or in certain exceptional cases, if the student has reached the age of 30 at the start of their studies
• In the case of a stay abroad, supplements to travel costs, tuition fees and health insurance abroad are granted; in the case of stays abroad outside the EU/Switzerland, a purchasing power adjustment is also granted
• Funding is possible until the end of the standard period of study, thereafter only in exceptional cases
• Responsible: Offices for educational support, usually the student union of the university attended